Somalia

5 years ago

Refugee Child Death Rates ‘Alarming’

Farah Abdi Warsameh / AP Photo

A child from southern Somalia, is treated for malnourishment in Banadir hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, Aug. 5, 2011.

The United Nations said Tuesday that an average of 10 Somali children under the age of 5 die each day in refugee camps in Ethiopia, a rate they called “alarming.” Most of the refugees have fled Somalia due to conflict and famine. Adding to the deaths from starvation are a suspected measles outbreak at the 25,000-capacity Kobe camp, part of Ethiopia’s Dollo-Ado complex of refugee camps, where about 200 to 500 new people arrive each day. The U.N. said it completed a mass vaccination for children ages 6 months to 15 years in Kobe, and it will continue the program at other camps. Thousands have fled Somalia in the wake of one of the worst droughts in 60 years and the ruthless leadership of Islamist militia leaders, the al-Shabab, who are reluctant to cooperate with international aid organizations.